Provision of location information

ABSTRACT

In a telecommunication system communication to and/or from a user equipment is carried on a user plane and messages supporting the communication are carried on a control plane. Information supporting provision of information about the location of the user equipment is also arranged to be carried on the user plane to and/or from the user equipment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to provision of location information, andin particular to provision of location information by means of atelecommunication system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various services can be provided for a user of a user equipment by meansof a telecommunication system. Services that utilise information aboutthe geographical location of a user in the service provisioning i.e. theso called location sensitive services are also known. Recent developmentin the field of mobile user equipment such as mobile telephones andother mobile stations has lead to arrangements wherein information aboutthe current location of the mobile user equipment is determined andutilised in provision services for the mobile users.

A well known example of the communication systems providing mobility forthe users is the public land line mobile network (PLMN), a cellularcommunication network being an example of the PLMN. Another example is amobile communication system that is based, at least partially, on use ofcommunication satellites. The skilled person is aware of the basicprinciples of a such communication systems. A mobile communicationsystem typically operates in accordance with a given standard orspecification which sets out what the various elements of the system arepermitted to do and how that should be achieved. For example, thestandard or specification may define if the user, or more precisely,user equipment or terminal is provided with a circuit switched serviceor a packet switched service or both. Communication protocols and/orparameters which shall be used for the connection are also typicallydefined. For example, the manner how communication shall be implementedbetween the user equipment and the elements of the communication networkis typically based on a predefined communication protocol. In otherwords, a specific set of “rules” on which the communication can be basedon needs to be defined to enable communication by means of thecommunication system.

A communication system needs to be able to provide various differentfunctions in order be able to operate. These functions can be divided indifferent categories. A category comprises functions that relate to theactual carrying of the communication such as voice or multimedia orother data content in the system. Another category can be seen as beingformed by control or management functions such as the control of variousservices and the actual communication. Signalling of messages associatedwith different functions is thus understood as being implemented ondifferent planes. For example, control messages are communicated on acontrol plane and the actual communication is then transported on a userplane. The communication on the user plane is supported the signallingof the control messages on the control plane.

Typically the communication systems provide this by means of separatechannels, e.g. by means of separated signalling and communicationchannels. Such arrangements are employed e.g. by signalling system 7(SS7) core networks and Q.931/GSM/WCDMA subscriber access. Therefore theterm “Signalling channel” may be used when referring to control planecommunications. Similarly the term communication channel may be usedwhen referring to user plane communications.

The various functions of the communication systems may have beendeveloped quite independently from each other and may use differentprotocols in different communication systems. The standards andprotocols define e.g. which plane shall be used for a certain purpose.

The mobile network apparatus and/or user equipment such as a mobilestation can be employed for provision of information regarding thegeographical location of the user equipment and thus the user thereof. Amobile user equipment and thus the user thereof can be positioned byvarious different techniques. For example, substantially accurategeographical location information that associates with a user equipmentcan be obtained based on the known satellite based GPS (GlobalPositioning System). More accurate location information can be obtainedthrough a differential GPS. In another approach the cells or similargeographically limited radio access entities and associated controllersof the communication system are utilised in production of an estimateconcerning the location of the mobile user equipment. To improve theaccuracy of the location information the communication system may beprovided with specific location measurement units (LMUs) that providemore accurate data or additional data concerning the location of a userequipment. It is also possible to conclude geographical location whenthe mobile user equipment is located within the coverage area of avisited or “foreign” network. The visited network may be made capable oftransmitting the location of the mobile user equipment back to the homenetwork, e.g. to support services that are based on location informationor for the purposes of routing and charging. The production of data forthe location determinations (such as various measurements andcalculations) does not form an essential element of the presentinvention, and is thus not described in any greater detail herein.

A location service (LCS) entity may be employed in the provisioning oflocation information associated with a target user equipment forentities who have requested for such information (the clients). The LCSclient may make use of that location information for variousservices/applications. The location service entity may implementedwithin the cellular system or connected thereto. The location serviceentity provided by the communication system may serve different clientsvia an appropriate interface.

Location data may be provided to the location service entity fromvarious sources connected to the communication system. Location data mayalso be processed in the user equipment that is provided withappropriate processing capacity. The user equipment may then provide thelocation service entity or the client with processed data such aslocation co-ordinates.

The location information may be used for various purposes, such as forlocation of a mobile telephone that has made an emergency call, forlocating vehicles or given mobile subscribers for commercial purposesand so on. In general, a client such as a user or entity wishing toreceive location information regarding another user may send a requestfor such information to the location service provision entity. Thelocation service provisioning entity will then process the request,obtain the required data and generate an appropriate response.

An example of the provision of the location information by a PLMN isdescribed in more detail 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)technical specifications, see e.g. 3GPP TS 23.271 version 4.2.0, titled“Functional stage 2 description of LCS”, June 2001.

According to the 3GPP specification a location service (LCS) serverentity referred to as a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) isprovided for managing the location services. The GMLC is for gatheringand storing various data that may be used in provision of locationinformation for the location service clients (LCS clients). The presentlocation service (LCS) solutions employ control plane signallingchannels for signalling messages that associate with the provisioning ofthe location services, such as for requests for location information,messages for conveying LCS assistance data and so on.

However, the inventors have found that the signalling of messages thatassociate with the provisioning of the location information may causerelatively high load on the control plane. This may be especially thecase in the air interface between the mobile user equipment and theradio network servicing the mobile user equipment.

A further problem may arise in situations wherein by the communicationsystem does not support provision of location information services orsupports only certain types of services. In the prior art communicationsystems all elements in a LCS chain may need to support the provision ofthe location services. For example, involvement of all associatedentities such as the GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center), HLR (HomeLocation Register), MSC/SGSN(s) (Mobile Switching Center/Serving GPRSSupport Node) and other controllers is required. Support by the basestation(s) and/or the user equipment may also be required.

This may be the case e.g. when new telecommunication standards or newtype of services are introduced. A new communication system may beinitially run based on substantially basic protocols and so on, aretherefore may not be able to support any more “sophisticated services”.For example, the recently launched GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)networks do not support provision of location information services forpacket switched data communication sessions. A solution that overcomesalso this problem might thus be appreciated by the service providers andusers of the telecommunication system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention aim to address one or several ofthe above problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod in a telecommunication system wherein communication to and/orfrom a user equipment is carried on a user plane and messages supportingthe communication are carried on a control plane, and whereininformation supporting provision of information about the location ofthe user equipment is carried on the user plane to and/or from the userequipment.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided atelecommunication system wherein communication to and/or from a userequipment is carried on a user plane and messages supporting thecommunication are carried on a control plane, the telecommunicationsystem comprising an entity for provision of information about thelocation of the user equipment, the arrangement being such thatinformation supporting the provision of said information about thelocation of the user equipment is carried on the user plane to and/orfrom the user equipment.

In a more specific form the supporting information comprises informationgenerated by the user equipment for use by the network entity inprovision of information about the location of the user equipment. Thesupporting information may comprise results of location measurements bythe user equipment.

The supporting information may alternative or in addition compriseassistance data for use by the user equipment when determininginformation about the location thereof. The user equipment may computethe location thereof or perform at least one measurement based on theassistance data. The assistance data may be generated based oninformation that is provided by a location information provisioningunit. A rough location estimate of the user equipment may be determinedand transmitted to the user equipment via the user plane.

Packet switching may be employed in the transportation of saidsupporting information on the user plane. The communication of saidinformation may be accomplished by means of internet protocol (IP)session. At least a part of the supporting information may be carried toand/or from the user equipment by means of a packet data protocol (PDP)session, a short message service (SMS), or Abis/lub interface, or a datacall.

The address of the user equipment may be determined based on anindication of the identity of the user equipment. Said supportinginformation may be routed to the user equipment based on said address.

Said supporting information may be included in a user planecommunication channel that has been established for other purposes orthat has been established for communication of said supportinginformation.

The embodiments of the invention may reduce the amount of signalling ofthe control plane. Since the communication of the location informationmessages occurs via the user plane involvement of the telecommunicationnetwork elements such as the MSC, SGSN or RNC/BSC are not required.Although these elements may be required for establishment of the userplane there is no need for then to provide LCS specific features. Theprovisioning of the location information services may be providedindependently from the operator of the network. That is, data associatedwith the provision of location information services may be transferredover the user plane connection without any proprietary connection to aspecific network element. A network operator may control the locationrequests based on traditional approaches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

For better understanding of the present invention, reference will now bemade by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of one embodiment ofthe present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made to FIG. 1 which is a simplified presentation of acellular system to which the present invention may be applied. Moreparticularly, FIG. 1 shows an arrangement the cellular system 3 providesradio coverage areas i.e. cells 2. Each radio coverage area 2 istypically served by a base station (not shown for clarity). It should beappreciated that one cell may include more than one base station site. Abase station apparatus or site may also provide more than one cell. Theshape and size of the cells 2 depend on the implementation and may bedifferent from the illustrated shapes. The shape and size of the cellsmay also vary from cell to cell.

Each of the base stations is controlled by an access network controller.For example, a 3G radio access network controller (RNC) or a moreconventional base station controller (BSC) of the GSM may be used forsuch purposes. The access network controller may be connected toappropriate core network entities of the cellular system, such as a MSC(mobile switching centre) and/or SGSN (serving general packet radioservice support node), via a suitable interface arrangement. In order toensure proper operation of the system, a control message that associateswith a call to and/or from a user equipment needs typically to becommunicated on the control plane to several network entities.

It shall be appreciated that the various elements associated with theradio access network and the communication system are shown anddescribed in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention anddo not form an essential element of the invention. Thus these are notexplained in any greater detail herein.

User equipment such as mobile stations (MS) 10 is also shown. It shallbe appreciated that a number of user equipment may be in communicationvia the cellular system although only one mobile user equipment is shownin FIG. 1 for clarity. Each mobile user equipment is arranged totransmit signals to and receive signals from the base station via awireless interface.

The location of the mobile user equipment 10 may vary in time as theuser equipment is free to move within the coverage area of a basestation and also from a coverage area to another coverage area. Asmentioned above, the modern communication systems are capable ofproviding information regarding the geographical location of a userequipment within the coverage area thereof. The geographical locationmay be defined, For example, on the basis of the position of the mobilestation relative to the base station(s) of the mobile telecommunicationsnetwork and/or based on information from a GPS system 1.

The geographical location of the user equipment may be defined, forexample, in X and Y co-ordinates or in latitudes and longitudes. Apossibility is to use the relation between defined radiuses and angles,e.g. based on the spherical coordinate system or alike. It is alsopossible to define the location of the base stations and/or mobilestations in vertical directions. For example, Z co-ordinate may be usedwhen providing the location information in the vertical direction. Thevertical location may be needed e.g. in mountainous environments or incities with tall buildings.

In FIG. 1 the location service (LCS) client 24 is shown to comprise anentity providing various applications. The LCS clients is entitled toreceive at least some degree of information concerning the location (orlocation history) of a target user equipment. A LCS client 24 can be anyentity that makes use of the location information. The given examplesinclude service applications such as pure location information services,games wherein location information can be utilised and fleet managementapplications. The service application may use the location informatione.g. to enhance usability of the service or for content segmentation Theclient 24 may request for information from the communication system. TheLCS client 24 can thus be seen as a logical functional entity that maymake a request for location information of one or more target userequipment for what ever purposes.

The particular requirements and characteristics of a LCS Client aretypically known to the location service server of the communicationsystem by its LCS client subscription profile. Particular restrictionsassociated with each target user equipment may also be defined.

The LCS client 24 may be an entity that is external to the communicationnetwork. The LCS client may also be an internal client (ILCS) i.e.reside in any entity or node (including the mobile station) within thecommunication system.

The communication system may be provided with various different meansfor processing information gathered from the cells and/or some otherparameters and/or for computing by processor means appropriatecalculations for determining and outputting the geographical location ofthe target user equipment. The location information may be obtained byusing one or more of the appropriate location techniques.

At least a part of the location information may be provided based oninformation provided by system that is separate from the communicationsystem, such as by means of the Global Positioning System (GPS),differential GPS or similar.

Since there are various possibilities how to implement the locationservices in the cellular system and since the invention is not dependenton the used location determination technology, these are not bedescribed in any greater detail herein.

The location service (LCS) functionality of the communication system isshown to be provided by several entities. The client may send therequest to a specific location service server entity comprisingcomponents and bearers needed to serve LCS clients. The server entitymay provide a platform which will enable the support of location basedservices in parallel with other telecommunication services such asspeech, data, messaging, other teleservices, user applications andsupplementary services. The LCS Server may thus provide the client, onrequest or periodically, the current or most recent geographic location(if available) of the target user equipment or, if the location fails,an error indication and optionally the reason for the failure.

FIG. 1 shows a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) entity 18 as anexample of a conventional location service entity for gathering andstoring data that is required for the provision of the locationinformation. The GMLC node 18 is arranged to receive via appropriateinterface means information concerning the location of the mobile userequipment from the cellular system 3. The GMLC location service node 18is typically implemented in the core network. The GMLC may receivelocation information from the radio access network via appropriatecontroller entities such as the MSC and/or a SGSN by the appropriateinterface means.

At least a part of the location data may be provided by specific GPSlocation measurement units. A GPS Location Measurement Unit (LMU) may beprovided for collection of information such as timing differenceinformation for use in Observed Timing Difference of Arrival (OTDOA)positioning method. Such a GPS LMU is often referred to as GPS referencereceiver. The OTDOA is used by some communication systems such as thosebased on the WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) for thenetwork based location estimation.

The user equipment 10 may also be adapted to perform locationmeasurements and/or calculations. The user equipment may accomplish thise.g. using an OTDOA capability thereof. The user equipment may also be aGPS enabled terminal. That is, the user equipment may be provided with aGPS receiver and means for processing GPS data.

The inventors have found that it is possible to use a user planeconnection for transportation of messages that associate with theprovision of location information services. For example, packet switchedinternet protocol (IP) user plane connection may be provided for suchcommunication in parallel with another user plane communication mediasuch as PDP (packet data protocol) context, data call, WLAN (WirelessLAN) communications and so on. Messages that relate to the provisioningof the location information services such as the location informationrequests, responses and assistance data may be delivered via an alreadyactive IP connection. Alternatively a new IP connection may beestablished for such messages e.g. in response to a location request.

FIG. 1 illustrates possible system architecture to implement user planebased positioning system. FIG. 2 show a flowchart for possible operationof the FIG. 1 system. In the system communication of “normal” or actualtelecommunication traffic such as voice, data or multimedia content toand/or from the user equipment 10 is carried on a user plane. Signallingof messages that support the actual communication are then carried on acontrol plane. However, and as illustrated by FIG. 2, communication ofinformation supporting the provision of information about the locationof the user equipment is carried on the user plane between the userequipment and the serving mobile location center 14.

More particularly, a client application 24 may request for user positionfrom a location services middleware entity 22. The Location middlewaremay be a mobile positioning enabling server responsible for functionssuch as user profiling (privacy checks), service screening, locationdata manipulation, charging, subscriber authentication, system controlfunctions and so on. The server entity 22 may be provided in the corenetwork side of the communication system. The server may communicatewith the LCS application e.g. based on slightly modified logicalinterface (LIF) protocol which supports communication of IP addressinformation. As shown by the arrow 26 the server entity 22 may alsocontact the GMLC functionality. Instances wherein this may be requiredare discussed later.

A user plane IP session may be established between the mobile userequipment 10 and any appropriate service. In FIG. 1 a session 25 isshown as being established between the user equipment and the locationservice applications 24. The IP session to be utilised in theprovisioning of location information may also established between theuser equipment 10 and an entity of the communication network thatassociates with the provisioning of the location information for theapplications 24.

As mentioned above, user plane connections can be used instead of thecontrol plane for the transfer of location information service specificdata. Different transmission control protocol (TCP) connections of asingle IP session can be used in the provisioning of the locationinformation services. Alternatively a dedicated IP session can becreated for the location services, for example, between the servingmobile location center (SMLC) and the user equipment.

In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 1 the communication occurs betweenthe user equipment 10 and an IP serving mobile location center (IP SMLC)14. The IP SMLC entity 14 is provided for coordination and control ofthe operation. The IP SMLC 14 may include capabilities such as functionsfor handling Service Area Identities (SAI), Assisted GPS (A-GPS) andOTDOA. The IP SMLC may communicate with the user equipment to requestterminal based positioning information, to request terminal measurementsor to deliver LCS assistance data.

There are several ways how the IP SMLC may communicate with the userequipment. According to a preferred approach the user equipment isaddressed by means of the IP address thereof. The IP message may alsocontain a pre-determined TCP port number to indicate for the userequipment that the message is a LCS specific messages.

The IP serving mobile location center (IP SMLC) may use an existing IPconnection to communicate with the user equipment for obtaininginformation required for the location calculations. The IP connectionwhich is used to convey location related requests, responses andassistance data may be accessed via a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)12, mobile portal or similar gateway to the user plane. That is, theGGSN 12 may provide a path or gateway to access the pre-established IPconnection. In practice this means that the IP SMLC 14 communicates withthe user equipment via the GGSN 12. In accordance with an alternative amobile portal provides instead of the GGSN the access point.

In order to be able to utilise an existing IP connection the IP SMLC hasto know the IP address of the user equipment. Therefore the requestmessage received from the client application should contain not onlyspecified parameters (e.g. the mobile subscriber ISDN, requestedaccuracy and so on) but also the IP address of the user equipment.However, this is not always necessary, as will be explained later.

A mediator entity 20 may also be provided. The mediator entity providesdynamic selection and gateway functions. More particularly, the mediatorentity may select if location information is to be provided by thetelecommunication system or by another location information provisionsystem. The mediator entity may include a selection logic e.g. whetherlocation is fetched from a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 18 ofthe communication network or from another entity via an IP connection.The method to be used in the provisioning of the location informationmay be selected based e.g. on the Quality of positioning (QoP) parameterincluded in the request or based on any other appropriate criteria. Thedetermination may be made based on any appropriate method, such as byutilising information regarding the service area identity/visited MSC(SAI/V-MSC) by means of the GMLC 18 or based on the GPS information thatis accessible by the SMLC 14.

The mediator entity 20 may also include IP connection managementfunction.

A GPS receiver 11 may be integrated to the user equipment 10 inapplications wherein the GPS is used for provision of the locationinformation (e.g. the so called Assisted GPS (A-GPS) methods). In suchapplications assistance data may need to be communicated to enhance theGPS receiver functionality 11 of the user equipment 10. For example,sensitivity, coverage and response time may be enhanced by means ofadditional information assisting in the provisioning of the locationdata. The GPS assistance data for the A-GPS arrangement may betransferred to the user equipment using the IP connection withoutrequirement for any of the elements of the communication network to getinvolved in the signalling. The A-GPS assistance data may be transferredover the IP connection without any proprietary connection to anassistance server. Since the user plane is used for communication of thecontrol information proprietary interfaces are not necessarily required.

It should be noted that some of the assisted GPS procedures in the userequipment may require initial rough location information estimate, forexample a cell level knowledge of the position of the user equipment.This information may be provided for the user equipment by means of theassistance data.

The GPS reference receiver 4 has the capability to produce the requiredGPS assistance data. The assistance data can be reported to the locationservice (LCS) entities using dedicated IP session established betweenthe GPS reference receiver 4 and e.g. the IP SMLC.

Standard based protocol parameters may be used for the communications.For example, when collecting assistance data from the GPS referencereceiver 4 or the user equipment 10 the parameters can be based on the3GPP definitions.

Operation in accordance with an embodiment will be described in thefollowing. The LCS application 24 requests position i.e. geographicallocation information from the location services middleware 22. Themiddleware 22 may then accomplish e.g. the screening and/or privacyfunctions. The request may then be routed to the mediator function 20.

If the Quality of positioning (QoP) requirement of the request is highand if the subscriber profile indicates that the user equipment 10 is aGPS capable terminal, the request may be handled as a GPS locationservice (LCS) request. For the GPS LCS request the following decisionsand actions may be taken.

If the last known location of the user equipment is determined as beingone that can be used for responding the request, the request is passedfurther to an IP address mapping entity 16 of the IP SMLC 14. The lastknown location may be used as a rough location estimate to be providedfor the user equipment.

The IP address mapping entity 16 is for retrieving IP addresses of userequipment. The mapping entity 16 may be implemented at the IP SMLC 14 oras a part of the mediator 20, or in any other appropriate entity of thenetwork.

The LCS application 24 may give various identities (ID's) when sendingthe initial location request. If the IP address of the user equipment isgiven (e.g. the LCS application knows the IP address of the userequipment because there may be a connection between the application andthe user equipment), there is no need for any IP mapping proceedings.However, processing such as validation may be required. Identity such as‘Nick name’ e.g. may be used when the communication network wishes tohide the actual identity of the subscriber from the LCS application. Inthis case the network has the required knowledge for MSISDN—IPAddress—nick name mapping. (MSISDN=mobile subscriber international ISDNnumber). For example, the IP mapping function may use the relationdatabase (e.g. a radius proxy server) to map the nick name received fromapplication to an IP address of the user equipment. MSISDN may also beused, e.g. when the LCS application has no connection to the terminalbut knows the subscriber number, for example a service such as “Findwhere my wife is”. In this case the IP mapping function may map theMSISDN to a respective IP address e.g. by means of a database (notshown). A new PDP context may also be created to the user equipment toget the MSISDN. The short message service (SMS) may also be used forthis purpose.

It shall be appreciated that these functions may be done by the IP. SMLCor the Mediator entity 20 depending where IP mapping function islocated. The mapping function may also be a shared functionality.

It may be determined that the last known location is too old forprovision of a rough location estimate. In such case a new “rough”location estimate (based on Cell ID (Cl) or service area identity (SAI),for example) may be requested from the GMLC 18 or any other appropriateelement of the LCS system of the communication network. The request maythen be passed to the IP address mapping entity with a rough locationestimate from the GMLC. The “rough” estimate/last known location fromthe GMLC 18 is then used to find correct assistance data set.

The IP SMLC 14 is thus made aware of the approximate position of thetarget user equipment and IP and/or MSISDN-addresses. The IP SMLC 14 mayuse the approximate position to select a correct set of GPS assistancedata, e.g. for selection of only those GPS satellites that are visiblefor the user equipment at the current location. The mobile userequipment may also use the rough location estimate in generation of acorrect E-OTD/OTDOA assistance data set regarding e.g. the base stationswhich the user equipment shall to listen and so on. The user equipmentmay also use the rough estimate otherwise to enhance the GPS receiverfunctionality thereof.

The assistance data and location request may be sent to the userequipment on top of an IP session (e.g. as a PDP context) or as a shortmessage service (SMS) message. The SMS messages may be used e.g. whenthe user equipment is communicating with elements of a Circuit Switchednetwork.

It may also be such that the IP address of the user equipment 10 is notknown and/or cannot be found by the mapping function. If IP address isnot known then the Mediator or the IP SMLC may try to establish adedicated PDP context (a form of IP session) or a SMS connection to theuser equipment. In such case the request may be passed to the GMLC 18.The GMLC may then return the current location of the target userequipment. It is thus possible to fetch the location from the GMLC 18 ifeither of these communications cannot be established, or if they are nototherwise feasible or desired. The GMLC response may then be used as afinal location estimate.

The data format may be as specified in the 3GPP radio resource control(RRC) protocols. The SMLC 14 may then collect the assistance data fromthe GPS LMUs i.e. reference receivers 4. The data format of theassistance data delivery may be, for example, as specified in the 3GPPnode B application part (NBAP) definitions

The mediator 20 or the IP SMLC itself 16 may handle the connectioncontrol for the communication between the user equipment 10 and the IPSMLC 14 and the dataflow between these entities.

The user equipment 10 may calculate the location thereof using theassistance data from the IP SMLC 14. The user equipment sends thecalculated location co-ordinates (x,y) back to the mediator which maythen pass the co-ordinates (x,y) to the LCS application entity 24.

GPS reference data collection can be done separately in background evenperiodically. Reference data may be collected from GPS referencereceivers. A GPS reference receiver is used for receiving “raw GPS data”from the GPS satellites. This raw data is then transferred to the IPSMLC for further processing. The IP SMLC may, for example, take offunnecessary information such as check sums, headers and so on from theraw data received from satellites to generate the actual assistancedata.

It is also possible to utilise for example “secondary PDP context”procedures which enable related PDP sessions to be established formultiple parallel sessions. This enables for example efficient LCScharging and Quality of Service (QoS) management and so on. Thesecondary PDP context may be used, for example, to enable feasiblecharging of assistance data and data transfer.

A parallel “pipe” may be established for the provision of the LCS e.g.in instances wherein the main PDP context is for transportation ofEmail. In such a case substantially low QoS and best effort techniquesmay be used. However, the LCS may require better QoS & tariffs, and thusa parallel communication pipe.

In accordance with an embodiment the IP SMLC 14 is provided informationsuch as GPS data received from the satellites 1. This data may bemanipulated to produce GPS assistance data to enhance terminal's GPSfunctionality.

Another embodiment provides a combined OTDOA/E-OTD (enhanced observedtime difference of arrival) and A-GPS functionality wherein base stationsynchronization difference information is required. The IP SMLC may needto know the base station synchronisation differences to generateE-OTD/OTDOA assistance data and calculate the position of the userequipment by means of these methods. This synchronisation differenceinformation may be collected by the LMU 4. This information is needed tocompensate clock differences of signals measured for the OTDOA method.

It shall be appreciated that in addition to the above referenced GPS,D-GPS or the OTDOA/E-OTD methods, the location of the user equipment maybe determined based on information from any appropriate locationinformation provision mechanism. For example, mechanism such as thosethat are based on use of parameters such as cell identity (CI), servicearea identity (SAI), timing advance (TA), round trip time (RTT) and soon may be used either alone or in any combination.

These data segments may be collected by the GPS LMU element 4. The GPSLMU element may then report the data using pre-established TCP/IPconnection or any other appropriate method such as the SMS, data call,NBAP/LLP (LMU-LCS protocol) signalling and so on between the IP SMLC andGPS LMU.

It shall be appreciated that although the above describes the inventionin with reference to IP session, this is not the only possibility forthe user plane communication. The communication may occur, for example,based on signalling via Abis/lub interface, PDP context, short messageservice (SMS), data call and so on.

It shall also be appreciated that the TCP/IP based connection or otherappropriate connection 5 used for communication between the GPS LMU 4and the IP SMLC 14 may be independent of the radio access network (e.g.UTRAN) 3 and also the user plane connection provided for the userequipment 10. Therefore messages on the TCP/IP connection 5 can betransported over an independent communication media such as theEthernet, WLAN, Bluetooth™, GPRS/NCDMA PDP context and so on. Thisapproach allows easy configuration and independency of site locations.

Solution offers vendor independent quick time-to-market solution withoutadding any proprietary function. The required communication connectionsmay established in a normal per se standardised ways for the serviceprovisioning application 24 invoking a location request.

The basic communication parameters may be based on 3GPP definitions.This is especially applicable to LCS application interfaces which may bethe same as in the standardized GMLC based solutions. Also the GPS LMUand user equipment parameter definitions may be based on the standards.Therefore even though the solution is proprietary this approach provideseasy user equipment adaptation and very flexible evolution tostandardized solutions.

It should be appreciated that whilst embodiments of the presentinvention have been described in relation to user equipment such asmobile stations, embodiments of the present invention are applicable toany other suitable type of user equipment.

It should be appreciated that even though the exemplifyingtelecommunications network shown and described in more detail uses theterminology of the third generation (3G) UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System) public land mobile network (PLMN), theproposed solution can be used in any system providing mobilecommunications for users and some kind of location information service.Examples of other telecommunications systems include, without limitingto these, standards such as the GSM (Global System for Mobilecommunications) or various GSM based systems (such as GPRS: GeneralPacket Radio Service), AMPS (American Mobile Phone System) or DAMPS(Digital AMPS), IMT 2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications system2000), i-phone and so on.

Since the communication of the location information services messagesoccurs via the user plane involvement of the core telecommunicationnetwork elements such as the MSC, SGSN or RNC/BSC is not required.Therefore the provisioning of the location information services may bemade operator independent. That is, data associated with the provisionof location information services may be transferred over the IPconnection without any proprietary connection to a network element suchas an assistance server.

The use of IP data carriers is believed to be feasible since asubstantial portion of the LCS service provisioning is done inconnection with IP sessions, e.g. during browsing or when in datacommunication with another party. This makes use of the user planecommunication path feasible for various applications. The user plane IPconnection that is to be used for communication of LCS data to and fromthe user equipment may be a connection that has already been establishedbetween the user equipment and a LCS application for other purposes,e.g. for browsing of location services.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplifyingembodiments of the invention, there are several variations andmodifications which may be made to the disclosed solution withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as defined in theappended claims.

1. A method, comprising: sending to a user equipment and/or receivingfrom a user equipment communication on a user plane; sending to saiduser equipment and/or receiving from said user equipment messagessupporting the communication on a control plane; and sending to saiduser equipment support information from a mobile location centerimplemented in a core network, said support information supportingprovision of information about the location of the user equipment on auser plane communication channel established for communication of saidsupport information, wherein the support information comprises a messagegenerated by said mobile location center, and wherein the supportinformation comprises assistance data for use by the user equipment whendetermining information about the location of the user equipment.
 2. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assistance data is for use bythe user equipment when computing the location thereof or performing atleast one measurement.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein theassistance data is based on information said mobile location centre ofthe communication system has received from a location informationprovisioning unit.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: employing packet switching for transportation of the supportinformation on the user plane.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 4,further comprising: accomplishing communication of said supportinformation using an internet protocol session.
 6. The method as claimedin claim 5, further comprising: using a transmission control protocolconnection of the internet protocol session.
 7. The method as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising: sending at least a part of the supportinformation to the user equipment using a packet data protocol session.8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: sending atleast a part of the support information to the user equipment using ashort message service.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: sending at least a part of the support information to theuser equipment using an Application Binary Interface Standard/lubinterface.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:sending at least a part of the support information to the user equipmentusing a data call.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: determining the address of the user equipment based on anindication of the identity of the user equipment; and routing saidsupport information to the user equipment based on said address.
 12. Themethod as claimed in claim 11, wherein the determining the addresscomprises determining an internet protocol address of the userequipment.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:transmitting a rough location estimate of the user equipment to the userequipment via the user plane.
 14. An apparatus, comprising: at least onememory including computer program code, at least one processor, the atleast one memory and the computer program code being configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to send to auser equipment and/or receive from a user equipment communication on auser plane; send to said user equipment and/or receive from said userequipment messages supporting the communication on a control plane; andsend to said user equipment support information from a mobile locationcenter implemented in a core network, said support informationsupporting provision of information about the location of the userequipment on a user plane communication channel established forcommunication of said support information, wherein the supportinformation comprises a message generated by said mobile locationcenter, and wherein the support information comprises assistance datafor use by the user equipment when determining information about thelocation of the user equipment.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe assistance data is based on information said mobile location centerhas received from a location information provisioning unit.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured to send saidsupport information on said user plane communication channel based onpacket switching.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatusis configured to send said support information on said user planecommunication channel using an internet protocol session.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured to send atleast a part of the support information to the user equipment on saiduser plane communication channel using a packet data protocol session.19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured tosend at least a part of the support information to the user equipment onsaid user plane communication channel using a short message service. 20.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured to sendat least a part of the support information to the user equipment on saiduser plane communication channel using an Abis/lub interface.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured to send atleast a part of the support information to the user equipment on saiduser plane communication channel using a data call.
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the processor configured to cause the apparatus todetermine the address of the user equipment based on an indication ofthe identity of the user equipment, said support information beingconfigured to be routed to the user equipment based on said address. 23.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to causethe apparatus to determine the location of the user equipment based oninformation from at least one of the following location informationprovision mechanisms: global positioning system; differential globalpositioning system; observed time difference of arrival; enhancedobserved time difference of arrival; cell identity; service areaidentity; timing advance; or routing trip time.
 24. A method,comprising: receiving at a user equipment and/or sending from a userequipment communication on a user plane; receiving at said userequipment and/or sending from said user equipment messages supportingthe communication on a control plane; and receiving at said userequipment support information from a mobile location center implementedin a core network, said support information supporting provision ofinformation about the location of the user equipment on a user planecommunication channel established for communication of said supportinformation, wherein the support information comprises a messagegenerated by said mobile location center, and wherein the supportinformation comprises assistance data for use by the user equipment whendetermining information about the location of the user equipment. 25.The method of claim 24, further comprising determining information aboutthe location of the user equipment based on the assistance data.
 26. Themethod of claim 25, further comprising: computing the location of theuser equipment or performing at least one measurement based on theassistance data.
 27. An apparatus, comprising: at least one memoryincluding computer program code, at least one processor, the at leastone memory and the computer program code being configured to, with theat least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to receive at auser equipment and/or send from a user equipment communication on a userplane; receive at said user equipment and/or send from said userequipment messages supporting the communication on a control plane; andreceive at said user equipment support information from a mobilelocation center implemented in a core network, said support informationsupporting provision of information about the location of the userequipment on a user plane communication channel established forcommunication of said support information, wherein the supportinformation comprises a message generated by said mobile locationcenter, and wherein the support information comprises assistance datafor use by the user equipment when determining information about thelocation of the user equipment.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27, whereinthe apparatus is further configured to determine information about thelocation of the user equipment based on the assistance data.
 29. Theapparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is configured to computethe location of the user equipment or perform at least one measurementbased on the assistance data.
 30. A computer-readable medium encodedwith instructions that, when executed on a computer perform a process,the process comprising: sending to a user equipment and/or receivingfrom a user equipment communication on a user plane; sending to saiduser equipment and/or receiving from said user equipment messagessupporting the communication on a control plane; and sending to saiduser equipment support information from a mobile location centerimplemented in a core network, said support information supportingprovision of information about the location of the user equipment on auser plane communication channel established for communication of saidsupport information, wherein the support information comprises a messagegenerated by said mobile location center, and wherein the supportinformation comprises assistance data for use by the user equipment whendetermining information about the location of the user equipment.
 31. Acomputer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executedon a computer perform a process, the process comprising: receiving at auser equipment and/or sending from a user equipment communication on auser plane; receiving at said user equipment and/or sending from saiduser equipment messages supporting the communication on a control plane;and receiving at said user equipment support information from a mobilelocation center implemented in a core network, said support informationsupporting provision of information about the location of the userequipment on a user plane communication channel established forcommunication of said support information, wherein the supportinformation comprises a message generated by said mobile locationcenter, and wherein the support information comprises assistance datafor use by the user equipment when determining information about thelocation of the user equipment.